Coss

Officials propose significant budget injection to revive international arrivals, particularly from China, following a dip in early 2025

Thai tourism authorities are urging the government to approve a 3.5 billion baht injection of funds to aggressively stimulate both domestic and international tourism. 

The move comes after a slight dip in international arrivals in the first four months of 2025 and growing concerns about the crucial Chinese market.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are preparing to submit a proposal to the Cabinet for the significant financial boost, which will be channelled through three key initiatives.

A primary focus will be on revitalising the number of visitors from China, aiming to reach 6.7 million for the year, matching the 2024 figures.   LINK

Just imagine:

Jump on a plane to the USA next year, for the FIFA World Cup.

Arrive, see football matches.

Get arrested by Trump thugs and deported to Ecuador/Libya, with no due process, just the inside of a prison van...

LINK

I'm not going to America.

Denmark to summon US envoy over report of Greenland spying directive

CIA, NSA and Defense Intelligence Agency all included in ‘collection emphasis message’, report says

Robert Tait and Miranda Bryant
Wed 7 May 2025 17.05 BST

Denmark has said that it will summon the US ambassador to Copenhagen to respond to reports that US intelligence agencies have been ordered to increase espionage in Greenland.

The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said on Wednesday that he was concerned about the report in the Wall Street Journal, telling the Ritzau news agency: “It worries me a lot, because we don’t spy between friends.”

Speaking on his way to a meeting in Warsaw, he added: “I can’t know if it’s true because it’s in a newspaper. But it doesn’t seem to be strongly rejected by those who speak out. That worries me.”

High-ranking officials working under Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, issued the instruction to agency heads in a “collection emphasis message”, the Journal reported.

Such messages customarily help to set intelligence priorities and direct resources and attention to high-interest targets.

The Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency were all included in the message. It told chiefs to study Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes to American efforts to extract resources on the island, according to the Journal, citing two unnamed officials familiar with the matter.

Seasoned intelligence operatives say the Arctic island of about 56,000 inhabitants has not historically been a target of US espionage activity...  LINK

 

Trump wants to rename the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf, after no one pointed out to him, that he's not King of the World.

After a huge water spout was spotted in the Gulf of California, Trump has declared his intention to rename the Gulf, to the Gulf of Florida, saying that "only Florida has the best water spouts..."

A sharp eyed (eared?) TV commentator (S. Colbert) has observed, that Trump thinks Movies are real.

This after Trump's intention to re-open Alcatraz, surfaced the day after the Clint Eastwood Movie "Escape from Alcatraz", played on Florida TV, when Trump was in residence in Florida.

Further, when Trump was asked by a reporter about the re-opening, Trump said "...they only hold the worst criminals, and many have tried to escape but they cant, well one did but it didn't go well, they never found him, just some ragged clothes, lots of shark bites..." This is not true, this is what happened in the movie. 

Reality, none for Donnie, not in the history of reality, not ever.

A mix of frippery:

Rome is hosting the largest ever, old man CosPlay event and the world's media, is gripped with the smoke from their chimney.

Winnie is visiting Vlad for four days. He will attempt to persuade Vlad, (the only one who can control the Orangeman), to exert some influence and direction, favourable to Chyeena, on the man who has been musing recently about "beautiful babies, they're 11 ..."  LINK

 

enquiring minds, need to know the story

youtubery from Vlad, giving little Donnie, a style guide for renovations and acceptable autocrat camera ready behaviours.

 

 

I think it was Bubi who first raised the possibility of Nations using US debt as a tool/weapon.

"...   As America’s biggest foreign creditor, Japan sits on $1.1 trillion of US Treasuries. That gives Tokyo some leverage as it seeks to hammer out a trade deal with the White House.

If Japan sold massive amounts of US debt, it would very likely spark a massive Treasury selloff. Treasury rates would in turn sharply increase, making it more expensive for Washington to borrow and freaking out investors along the way.

“It would send shockwaves around world financial markets if one of the most reliable buyers of Treasuries is no longer reliably in the market for it,” said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale and a chief economist in the Biden administration.

Recall that fears of a bond market catastrophe helped convince Trump to pause so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on April 9.   ..."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/06/economy/trade-war-tariffs-japan-china-us-debt

 

 

On 5/6/2025 at 7:21 AM, Old Hippie said:

Hunter was a great role model for me growing up, guns, booze, drugs and good times are what makes the beast in us all to paraphrase…

I came to Thompson later in life, what was initially interesting was, as you say, the life style.

And further, the seemingly omniscient skill, he had, of being able to look at a character and put his finger on the button, pinpointing salience and truth.

 

I wish I was there...

Congratulations on living the Dream.

I may yet get to Hua Hin, on my trips to and fro Laos, via LOS.

 

more world news - 

Laos Halts Meat Imports from Thailand Following Fatal Anthrax Case

ooh-er!

"Laos has suspended the import of beef, pork, horse, and lamb from Thailand in an effort to prevent the spread of anthrax, following the death of a Thai man from the disease.

The man, a 53-year-old man in Mukdahan Province, Thailand, died from anthrax on 30 April  after developing rashes and lesions on his hand—symptoms characteristic of anthrax. This marks Thailand’s first fatal case of anthrax in 30 years, since 1994, and has triggered nationwide concern. Authorities have identified 638 people who may have been exposed, prompting the declaration of Don Tan district as a disease control zone. ... "

https://laotiantimes.com/2025/05/05/laos-halts-meat-imports-from-thailand-following-fatal-anthrax-case/

 

I'm struggling to see how a 100% increase on the cost of a filum, being imported into the USA has any effect on anything.

Let's see: Filum can $25. 300m of Filum aprox $800. So landed cost with 100% tariff,  about $1,650. 

Then used many times in cinemas possibly making $100 million ~ $200 million in a weekend.

Surely he's not going to tariff the use, of already tariff paid, imported items?

i.e. import steel, pay tariff, then tariff the use of said steel?

This filum tariff project hardly seems to make a dent in the profits or Make America Numerate Again.  

Au contraire, its, Make America Innumerate Again.  

Armed group attacks Lao troops near Thai border; bullet hits Thai home. At least 2 Lao soldiers killed, likely in revenge for 20M meth pills seized.

https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/general/40049592

 

Now if 'twere me, I'd raze it and build my palace on top.

Safety from the masses.

Cant even get this right...

 

 

Fans have pointed out, that the colour of the lightsaber Trump is portrayed holding - red - is the colour that the evil Sith lords use in Star Wars.

I blame organised religion.

By instituting an ethos that every one is valued and worth keeping in the fold, they have over centuries, allowed individuals that otherwise would have fallen to the survival of the fittest rule, early in their lives, to prosper and reach adulthood with seemingly, small or no penalty.

This policy helps in raising numbers for democratic or armed conquest purposes, and a larger take, for the offering plate at service. 

Before religion, individuals, that were born with afflictions, or perhaps perfectly healthy constitutions, but with attitudes or demeanours that didn't really benefit the species, were often weeded out by natural selection, early on.

But we have a history of seeking to evade natural selection.

And what Homo Sapiens did early on, was to mix it up.

Recent technological advances in the DNA area, have seen that we not only have Neanderthal DNA (everyone outside sub Saharan Africa), but Denisovan DNA (Asia and Oceania) and also DNA from other, unidentified archaic hominins.

The equivalent perhaps, of Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos and Gibbons all combining to make a news species, Pan Sapiens if you will.

This acceptance of the non fit (what ever criteria), results in us having to accept the non average, as valid members of our society and species. And organised groups are the main progenitors of this.

But one has to be careful not to stray into eugenics.

The folk that think that we should all be the same or very similar, are the other end of the stick and seem to have a tendency to raise their arm, palm flattened, towards crowds of people.

So if we are to continue down the evolutionary path we are on, the strange, the stupid, the weird, the one legged, the short, the tall and the mind numbingly clever, will all contribute to a wider pool of possibilities for the future.

 

Shipping "them" to Mar a Lago is great idea and if it were possible, I'd like to be there, when they arrive, preferably at the next table to Hunter S Thompson.

 

 

 

11 hours ago, bust said:

Not sure if you caught his 100 day Cabinet Meeting. It was hilarious. They must be either terrified of him or being paid or promised a lot. These people have zero personal integrity. It's a fictional government.

One used to be perturbed, at how these folk can live with themselves, whilst otherwise licking the golden scrotum.

Now I think a parable is in order.

They are lucky enough to be at the front of the crowd, that gathers around the Goose, that's laying streams of golden eggs, free to pick up and take. The all speak in soothing and approving tones and proffer handfuls of the Goose's favourite CheeseBurgers and generally do all they can to ease the goose's way.

The Goose is in his element, so thrilled with the approval, that he just knows that he is the most intelligent of all the geese.

The scrotum lickers, meanwhile, have yet to realise that golden eggs can be hard to carry in big numbers, and may just hatch into problems with no future.

And what integrity they may have, will be replaced by a scrotum licker's achievement badge, that will not be so popular in a few years time.

Megalomaniac 

 

More indications that the world is falling  to the Mobsters.

I don't care much for celebs, but celebs with brains are worth noting.

---

Amal Clooney could be barred from entering US by Donald Trump

Benedict Smith

May 1, 2025  

Amal Clooney could be barred from entering the US by Donald Trump, according to reports.

The British human rights barrister, who is married to George Clooney, could be sanctioned by the US president after a panel she sat on recommended an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on war crimes charges in Gaza.

Lawyers involved in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue the warrant, including Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws and Lord Justice Adrian Fulford, have been warned by the UK Foreign Office they could be barred from the US, The Financial Times reports.

It is currently unclear whether Amal Clooney has been cautioned, but she was a member of the panel which recommended prosecutor Karim Khan issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, then Israel’s defence minister.

ICC Israeli arrest warrants: UK, Germany & US trying to block procedure

In February, Trump used an executive order to sanction Khan, banning him and his family from the country and seizing his US assets, and warned further measures could follow against “those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions”.

He claimed the court had “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.

The executive order threatened “tangible and significant consequences” against others involved in the decision, which include freezing their property and blocking their entry into the US.

The Clooneys are said to spend most of their time in France and have homes in London and Italy, although they are currently in New York while George Clooney stars in the Broadway show Goodnight and Good Luck.

Trump’s order set a 60-day deadline, which fell on April 7, for internal recommendations about other figures who should be sanctioned alongside Khan. So far, further sanctions have not been publicly announced.

Unanimous recommendations

Khan had asked his panel of legal experts to review the evidence against Netanyahu and Gallant before issuing the warrants, and Amal Clooney said last year it was unanimous in its recommendations.

She claimed there were “reasonable grounds to believe” the pair had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including “starvation as a method of warfare,

“The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked me to assist him with evaluating evidence of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza,” she wrote on the Clooney Foundation for Justice website.

“I served on this panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives.“The law that protects civilians in war was developed more than 100 years ago and it applies in every country in the world regardless of the reasons for a conflict.”

Netanyahu has fiercely criticised the arrest warrant, claiming it created a “twisted and false moral equivalence between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas”.

The court also charged three leaders of Hamas, the proscribed terrorist group, who have since been killed.

George Clooney is a long-time Democrat supporter who took a prominent role in last year’s election campaign, appearing at fundraisers alongside Joe Biden, the former US president, before publicly urging him to drop out of the race.

George Clooney was a “second-rate movie star” and “failed political pundit”, Trump said, calling the interview a “puff piece”.

“He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s election and then, right after the debate, dumped him like a dog. Later, I assume under orders from the Obama camp, pushed all out for ‘Kamala [Harris],’ only to soon realise that that was not going to work out too well,” he wrote on his Truth Social account.

Amal Clooney has been approached for comment via her chambers and the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

- The Telegraph

So easy  - what's left of the 'Debate of Intellectuals' could have done it.

Much of what happens that arouses us, does not need to be geographically corralled.

Ergo, this thread.

Signal it is

Now to convert my wide ranging contacts list to the new... All 7 of them.

Email is still the go also.
 

We had an electricity outage here 2 days ago... 12 hrs.

It brought home how dependant we are on Tech, but it was OK as wife knows everything. And there's fishing 

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz is leaving the administration just weeks after it was revealed he added a journalist to a Signal chat being used to discuss military plans, according to two people familiar with the matter Thursday, marking the first major staff shake-up of President Donald Trump’s second term...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360674031/trump-national-security-adviser-waltz-out-major-staff-shake-after-his-signal-chat-blunder

 

Q: Why not hours?

terrible, S.E.A. at it's most tragic.

 

What are your thoughts on alternatives to WhatsApp, which I’m thinking of ditching, now that Zuckerberg has shoehorned Meta Ai into it.

Summary Table